Just playing around....

I love doing mixed media!  And I especially love doing canvases... This canvas started out with a Mustard Seed background.  Then, I took Ranger Texture Paste and applied it to the bottom of the canvas.  After the texture paste was dry, I applied Salty Ocean Distress Ink over top. Using Spiced Marmalade and the Tim Holtz layer stencil, I stenciled color upon the top of the canvas.

I then took my Distress Marker Spritzer tool and the Mowed Lawn Distress Marker and spritz randomly over the page.  (I love the Spritzer tool!!  It's so nice to be able to use it with different markers and not just the Distress Markers.)  I applied some Titanium White DecoArt paint to the right side of the canvas in a random pattern and then I stamped the Tim Holtz sentiment on the painted area with Archival Ink.  (I haven't had success yet stamping with paint.  I'm told it is a bit of a learning curve, but I won't give up!!)

Using the same colors from the canvas (Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed, and Spiced Marmalade) and mailing tags, I created blended backgrounds with the Ink Applicator tool.  After drying, I took a hexagon punch and made hexagon die cuts.  After gluing the diecut hexagons on the canvas with Ranger Matte Medium, I also adhered two metal corners up top.


Thanks for stopping by!

Weekend in the Windy City...

The view from our hotel room window.

I spent a wonderful weekend with the bestie and her family in Chicago.  It was so good to spend some time with her and see her baby girl.  Her daughter has gotten so big since I last saw her at Thanksgiving.  At 9 months, she has two teeth and is crawling up a storm!!  Auntie Ginger (the name her daddy coined me) adores her little niece!!!

Since the best friend lives outside of downtown Chicago, we took the train on Saturday to the city.   We stayed on Michigan Avenue right next to the Hancock Center.  (Literally, we looked out the window and there was the Hancock Center!)

We ate dinner at Harry Caray's 7th Inning Stretch in Watertower Place.  I'm a diehard Reds fan, but seeing all of the Cubs memorabilia in and around the restaurant was pretty cool!!  And the burgers at the restaurant were so incredibly delicious!!  :)

After dinner, it was off to Joe's Bar on Weed Street for the Dan + Shay concert.  It was a really awesome show; lots of good music and good company with the bestie.  We definitely enjoy our concerts!!  (If you like country music, definitely check out a Dan + Shay show.  They are amazing live and I hope to catch them again soon!!)

Thanks for stopping by!!  Stop by on Thursday for a post on my first, and definitely not last, canvas piece!

A critter pic....

Packing tonight for a mini road trip to see the bestie in Chicago this weekend.  Haven't seen her or her family since Thanksgiving and her adorable daughter is growing way too fast....  We're going to see a concert on Saturday night and just spend some girl time together...  :)

Off to finish...The critters get a little clingy when they see the suitcase come out....I sure do miss them when I'm gone...

I'm here....

I have been MIA lately....The year started with a bout of the flu and then bronchitis (yuck!)...

Then, THE Ohio State University proved them all wrong and won the National Championship. (Hubby and I supported them from the couch, hollering and yelling, even though we were both uber-sick.)  It was SO exciting for them to win, even though it seemed as if EVERYBODYwas against them.   They sure did prove them wrong!!!  GO BUCKS!!


Then, it was off to SUNNY Las Vegas for the Creative Painting Convention for work.  The convention is always fun and the weather is always SO much better than Ohio.  I am a foodie and when I am out there, I always try to eat at a few restaurants that we don't have back home.  I am a HUGE Gordon Ramsay fan and last year, I dined at Gordon Ramsay's Pub and Grill.  This year, we ate at Gordon Ramsay's Burgr, where I had the best (and most expensive) burger of my life.  (It was the Gordon Ramsay burger and was $19.  Totally worth every single penny.  )The fries were absolutely delicious with a curry ketchup dipping sauce.  And  my coworkers and I split a milkshake that was to die for.  (I am serious...the milkshake was absolutely fantastic!  Oreo shake with creme brulee pudding on top....OMG.)

Lots of fun was to be had at the convention and it's always great to meet customers in person that I have spoken with over the phone.  I get to see designs and patterns in mixed media, acrylic, watercolor, and oil. I always come back home inspired to create after seeing all of the wonderful designs and products at the convention.

The last night we were in Vegas, Laura and caught the Rascal Flatts show at the Hard Rock.  It was my 13th Flatts show and Laura's first.  We had a great time and it was an awesome show.

In March, a couple of my girlfriends and I traveled to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for a weekend.  We took a day excursion to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina to see the Downton Abbey exhibition.  Lots of costumes from the show were on display throughout the rooms of the house. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures in the house, but I did get some pics outside the estate.


While in Gatlinburg, we went to the Ripley's Aquarium; a place that I have been to a number of times and never tire of.  We also visited an English pub where I was fortunate enough to get a selfie with Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth.  I had a couple of pints of cider and a serving of bangers and mash. Yum!

I hope to be better about blogging and actually am getting the craft room cleaned up, so I can get to work on some new projects.  I can't focus if the craft room is disorganized, so organizing and purging is my top priority right now.

Off to watch some Reds baseball...